Category Archives: Cheese Dishes

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Easy to Prepare, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetarian Dishes

Baked Mozzarella Sticks with Butternut Squash Marinara

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String Cheese for G-Strings

The weather’s getting warmer and you want to fill your tummy without working on that muffin top.  If stripper aerobics classes don’t put the sparkle in your crystal heels, you might want to shave off some calories another way.

When I first saw the shockingly seductive pics of baked treats using wonton and eggroll wrappers on Pinterest, I was skeptical.  Could some cooking spray and a quick trip in the oven beget lacy, crunchy appetizer happiness?  I ran the first test on my classic crab rangoon recipe and was literally floored – each light and crispy bite was greaseless and guilt-free.  Plus, my kitchen wasn’t covered with a sheen of oil from manning a deep fryer. Continue reading Baked Mozzarella Sticks with Butternut Squash Marinara →

Cheese Dishes, Impressive Dishes, Main Courses, Pasta Dishes, Recipes, Vegetarian Dishes

Wild Mushroom Cannelloni with Kale Pesto and Bechamel

Recipes for a Cure
This saucy dish is part of a collection of recipes written to benefit the National MS Society. In 2008, my sister Lexi (then 21 years old) was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. We formed a team of friends and family called MS is BS (Mind Strong is Body Strong), and each year we raise thousands of dollars for MS research. This recipe was written in tribute to a generous donation towards my $1500 fundraising minimum for the 2013 Capital Challenge Walk, a two-day 50K walk through Maryland, Virginia and DC. Learn more about team MS is BS on our website at http://msisbs.org.

Shrooms and Dinosaurs.  For Real.

In crafting this recipe, I was reminded of the fact that the reason I love to cook is because it is one of the few tasks that allows me to both obsess over ingredients and elevate them at the same time.  The creation of this recipe started with a memory – I was in Italy for the summer on a study abroad (aka. the photography boondoggle in Europe) with my good friend Lauren.  There were easily a hundred of us living in Orvieto, all crammed into the same little hotel, each with our favorite spots in the town that we had claimed as our own.  Lauren was in love with this one haunt for lunch, and not only did she try to eat there just about every day, but she informed me over a bottle (or two) of white wine that she tended to always order the same thing – the simply dressed green salad and tagliatelle with fresh porcini mushrooms. I loved the town already, but that lunch made me weep with joy at how lucky we were to be there. Continue reading Wild Mushroom Cannelloni with Kale Pesto and Bechamel →

Breakfast and Brunch, Cheese Dishes, Recipes, Seafood Dishes

Shrimp Crepes with Spinach, Artichokes and Swiss

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Melts in Your Mouth

I don’t want to play games. I want some one-on-one time with some oeey-gooey-goodness and I want it to be up close and personal. I want to get my Digable Planets on and relish in some creamy lavishness. And what better way to do so than to get my smooch on with some darling whole wheat crepes filled with melty swiss and artichokes. But you know I like my pop of color, so why not some spinach and red peppers to make things majestic. And tender shrimp to round out this party of sheer sexiness. I feel like I’m wasting time talking when I could be noshing. And I imagine that you’re feeling the same way and want to cut to the fucking chase. Let’s get it on… Continue reading Shrimp Crepes with Spinach, Artichokes and Swiss →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Easy to Prepare, Recipes, Vegetarian Dishes

Strawberry and Goat Cheese Crostini with Chocolate Olive Oil

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Let Me Take You Down, Cuz I’m Going to…

Today I want to talk about straddling in the kitchen.  You know, working the line between flavors, textures and temperatures to your own advantage.  Juxtaposing ingredients to ensure that every bite is both sassy and class.  It’s similar to the way that a chocolate-covered pretzel or a good and salty margarita scratch some primordial itch that occasionally pops up and leaves you clawing the walls for the smallest taste of the intoxicating combination.  And if you don’t scratch said itch, you feel a need to indiscriminately throat chop everyone around you, until someone plies your greedy mouth with a salted caramel cupcake.  I totally approve – desperate times call for desperate throat chops, and I’d kill a man for salted caramel. Continue reading Strawberry and Goat Cheese Crostini with Chocolate Olive Oil →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Easy to Prepare, Seafood Dishes, Side Dishes

Crab Rangoon with Sweet Chili Sauce

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I’ve always thought of this vintage throwback as a weird amalgamation – crabmeat, cheese, water chestnuts and ginger all wrapped in a wonton and fried.  Crazytalk!  But altogether, it’s a delight – one that I first tried at the now closed tiki restaurant, Honolulu, that was right off the highway in Alexandria, Virginia.

Now, I find it hard to track down a good version from Chinese takeout places, and instead, make my own.  If you love crab rangoon, but hate how many places use artificial crab meat, or worse, only cream cheese, then this is the recipe for you. Tender crab is perked up by sesame oil, ground ginger and the crunch of water chestnuts, with just enough cream cheese to bind it all together. Continue reading Crab Rangoon with Sweet Chili Sauce →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes

Green Chile Bean Dip

Ah, the joys of simplicity.  Particularly when the tummy starts rumbling and snacks must be pursued.  This tasty dip comprised of refried beans, green chiles and shredded cheese is too easy to be as good as it is.  And yet, 9 times out of 10, if I’m at my parents house rummaging through their pantry for a bite of something, I’ll end up making this dip.  And 10 times out of 10, whomever is around will stop what their doing and help to polish off the entire dish of the stuff.

I’ve been making this bean dip for longer than I remember, but the addition of the chiles I can specifically recall.  I was visiting my grandmother in Arizona for the summer, and she called from work to say that she was bringing her boss (and our family friend) over for cocktails and a bite to eat.  Could we make something quickly and preferably spicy?  My mom got to work and I watched her make this bean dip with the addition of piquant roasted hatch chiles.  Mom wasn’t messing around.  Happy hour was a success and I got to mimicking her technique from that day on.  Momma don’t play 😉  And neither should you, so try out this dip. Continue reading Green Chile Bean Dip →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Low Brow Treats, Sauces and Condiments

Chile con Queso

What do you call cheese that’s not yours?  Nacho cheese!  Hahahahaha!!!

What? Not funny?  There’s no accounting for taste these days.  But know that regardless of your sense of humor, you will adore the creamy, spicy goodness that is this chile con queso.  Because it is scandalous in its majesty.  Escandalo!

This recipe is my mom’s passed down to her from my grandmother.  We used to have this dip around Christmas and New Year’s, devoured as quickly as we could while still hot.  More than your typical melted cheese with peppers, the base of this sauce comes from smoky bacon.  To make matters even more dangerous, we’d occasionally dip pork rinds (!) into the cheese in addition to tortilla chips.  Say wha?  Don’t knock it till you try it. Continue reading Chile con Queso →

Cheese Dishes, Main Courses, Pasta Dishes, Poultry Dishes, Recipes

Rosemary Chicken Florentine Pasta

Back when I was rocking plaid skirts and a blazer in high school (and even before that as a tagalong with my mom’s running club), we used to frequent a quirky eatery called Generous George’s Positive Pizza and Pasta Place.  Fake flamingos and pink and teal paint dripping with kitsch and childhood memorabilia everywhere, it looked a little like Miami Vice and Parker Brothers got together as an interior design firm.  And do I recall a shark hanging from the ceiling?  Or maybe a surf board?  It was probably both.

Aesthetics aside, the place was too fun.  The pizzas featured airy, pliant dough with mounds of toppings and cheese.  And the pastas, all served on a single-sized pizza crust, were epic sized portions that even my dad’s appetite could not slay.  People left the place with takeout boxes and close to a pound of pasta in leftovers.  My mom usually got the red or white clam, Dad loved Old Naples with crumbled sausage and melted cheese, and Lexi usually ordered a personal pizza and pretended to be full after a bite or two so that she could get away with ordering dessert.  I used to be a sucker for the Chicken Romano Fettucine, basically alfredo with chicken, ham, peas and mushrooms, until I ordered the Rosemary Chicken Florentine on a whim.  The first time made me a convert – farfalle tossed with tender chicken, spinach, bacon, roasted red peppers in a rosemary cream sauce.  It was ridiculous.  Preposterous.  I was hooked.

Years have gone by since I’ve rolled down Duke Street in Alexandria to see our old haunt, and it turns out that there’s only my memories of the place to serve me now.  My sister posted on Facebook that the location was demoed and is now a PNC Bank.  I wondered if they auctioned off the merry-go-round pony that was in the main dining room?  Anyways, rather than put on my old school uniform, I decided to relive a classic and make a heaping mess of the beloved pasta.  I cut back the fat on the sauce, using milk instead of cream, and I didn’t have a pizza crust to use as a plate.  But it was still ridiculous.  Still preposterous.  And apparently, I’m still hooked.

Recipe for

Rosemary Chicken Florentine Pasta

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 c. of chicken stock
1 c. of white wine
1/2 tsp. of white pepper
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
1 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of garlic powder
2 bay leaves

4 strips of bacon
4 cloves of garlic
6 oz. of roasted red peppers, sliced
6 oz. of baby spinach
1 tbs. of olive oil
1 tbs. of chopped rosemary leaves
1 lb. of dried pasta cuts (farfalle, conchiglie, ziti, penne)

6 tbs. of butter
3 tbs. of flour
2 1/2 c. of whole milk
1 c. of locatelli
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
pinch of white pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

Begin by cooking the chicken.  Add two boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a saucepan with the stock, wine, rosemary sprigs, bay leaves, 1/2 tsp. of white pepper, 1/2 tsp. of black pepper, 2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of garlic powder.  Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.  Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.  Remove chicken from poaching liquid and let cool slightly.  Shred with two forks.  Set aside.

Now make the sauce.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Whisk in the flour, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and nutmeg.  Add the milk, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps.  Turn the heat to medium and whisk until thickened.  Stir in the locatelli and remove from the heat.  Stir in the roasted red peppers.  Set aside.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta according to box directions.  While the water comes to a boil, add bacon to a skillet and brown.  Toss in garlic, rosemary, spinach and the olive oil and cook until spinach is wilted.  Season with a little extra salt and black pepper and set aside.

When the pasta finishes, drain and toss with the red pepper cream sauce, spinach/chicken/garlic/rosemary mixture.  Top with extra grated locatelli and serve hot.

Cheese Dishes, Main Courses, Pressure Cooker Recipes, Rice Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes

The Quickest Wild Mushroom Risotto Ever

Risotto is one of those dishes that when I see on chefy shows on tv, I perennially call shenanigans.  I have made many a stunning risotto in my day, and every single stinking one of them became glorious from the sheer amount of love (read: time) that was poured into the dish.  A good risotto required at least a half an hour of my attention and stirring, a goodly amount of time spent prepping the ingredients beforehand and guests ready to tuck in immediately while its piping hot.  As such, I only ever made for risotto for folks I truly loved (meaning that if you HAVE had my risotto, you can bet your cutie bootie I adore having you in my life).  So the thought that risotto could share a plate with any other dish, and as a side item at that, was preposterous to me.

Fast forward a bit to the day that Santa Claus decided to bring me a pressure cooker.  I was giddy at first, then frustrated with getting my new baby to do my bidding, but shortly thereafter, head over heels in love.  I mastered the darn thing with no true hiccups and questioned why I hadn’t used one sooner.  It was a dream!  As a means of learning more about it, I turned to the queen of pressure cooking, Lorna Sass.  As I poured through her book, Cooking Under Pressure, I found the traditional bevy of stews and braises alongside surprises such as meatloaf and bread pudding.  There in the mix, I also found a recipe for risotto that purported the cooking time at under 10 minutes!  And, even crazier, no stirring!  I felt as if the world had been turned on its head a la Alice in Wonderland – what was this whimsically nonsensical recipe?  And how could I wield it in my cooking arsenal?

This recipe below is based on my pressure cooker risotto experiments, and the result is mind-blowingly good.  Yes, it takes only 10 minutes to cook.  Yes, it frees you from 45 minutes of straight elbow grease.  And yes, it’s simple enough to serve as a side.  The only problem I now have is finding a dish complicated enough to cook for the folks I love for them alone.  I’m fine with going on a bit of a culinary hunt for a challenge.  But in the meantime, I’ll be whipping up this risotto.

Recipe for

The Quickest Mushroom Risotto Ever

Ingredients
1 c. of dried mixed mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, shitake, hen of the woods or morels)
5 c. of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 c. of dry white wine
1/2 c. of chopped onions
2 tbs. of butter
2 tbs. of olive oil
1 1/2 c. of arborio rice
3/4 c. of grated locatelli
1/4 tsp. of white pepper
salt to taste
4 tbs. of chopped chives

Bring 2 c. of chicken stock to a boil.  Add the dried mushrooms and cover.  Let sit for about 20 minutes, allowing the mushrooms to rehydrate.  Drain the liquid off of the mushrooms and reserve.  Pour the liquid into a quart measuring cup and add enough additional stock to make 3 1/2 cups.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a pressure cooker and add the onions.  Cook for about a minute or until softened and then add the rice.  Cook rice until slightly translucent.  Add the wine and cook until absorbed completely.  Add 3 1/2 cups of stock and white pepper.  Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and bring up to high pressure.  Cook for 5 minutes and then use a quick release method to bring pressure back to normal.  Open the lid and return pot to the burner.  Taste the rice for doneness and stir to allow the last remaining stock to be absorbed by the rice.  If the rice is chewy and the stock has all been absorbed, add a little extra stock and continue to cook until the rice is tender.  Stir in the cheese and taste for salt.  Sprinkle with the chives and serve immediately.

Note

If you do not have a pressure cooker and would like to make this recipe, use the same ingredients, but follow the instructions for Rock Shrimp Risotto.

Breakfast and Brunch, Cheese Dishes, Egg Dishes, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Recipes

Breakfast Quesadilla

I don’t know why, but this recipe makes me think of Napoleon Dynamite and his aunt yelling at him to make himself “a dang quesa-DILL-a”.  Nobody would need to twist my arm to make this quesadilla – scrambled eggs and crisp bacon join melted cheddar and mild green chiles, sandwiched between two perfectly crisped flour tortillas.  It beats a traditional bacon, egg and cheese sandwich any day of the week, and the portable nature of pliant triangles of breakfasty goodness make this a prime contender for late-night, post-drinking binge food.  Come to think of it, this quesadilla is the perfect reminder that breakfast is good at just about any hour of the day.

Making a quesadilla is similar to a grilled cheese sandwich – if you cook the thing over high heat, the outside will burn before the cheese gets a chance to melt. Cook your quesadilla slowly to allow it to crisp up as the cheddar turns into melty gloriousness.

Recipe for

Breakfast Quesadilla

Ingredients
1 tbs. of butter
1/2 tbs. of olive oil or cooking spray
6 eggs, beaten
4 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
3 tbs. of chopped roasted green chiles
black pepper to taste
3 large flour tortillas
3/4 c. of shredded cheddar
cilantro to garnish

Warm a pan over medium heat and add the butter. Slip the eggs into the pan and stir slowly, allowing the eggs to form curds. Shut off the heat while the eggs are still wet and stir in the chiles and bacon. Place a tortilla on a cutting board and top with 1/3 of the eggs. Sprinkle a 1/4 of cheese on top and fold the tortilla over to create a half-moon. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas, eggs and cheese.

Heat a large skillet over medium-low and add the olive oil. Cook each quesadilla until golden brown and toasted, about 5-6 minutes on each side. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut each half-moon into 3 triangles. Serve with salsa or guacamole.